derf

Remember the Explorer Sport Trac? Beds were only a few inches bigger than 4'.

The 304/360/401 share the bellhousing bolt pattern but they're bigger than the small blocks from Ford, GM, and Mopar. They are hard to fit. As is the 4BT.

Yeah. It's a self feeding cycle. Everyone does Chevy swaps because everyone does Chevy swaps. Parts for Chevy swaps are plentiful. Ford and Mopar are arguably similar in capability but the lack of bolt in swap kits make them rare. So nobody makes the kits. So nobody buys them. If you can fabricate the mounts, you still have all of the nitpicky details to sort out on your own. The Chevy swap kits cost a bit but they bolt right in and save you a bunch of time and (when you add it all up) money.

If I was going to swap a classic small block Chevy, I'd probably do a 383. It can be done with the Vortec setup pretty easily if you want. But if I had time and money to burn, I'd look at doing a small block Ford. A 302/5.0 would tuck in that engine bay nicely. You would need to do more fabrication but you could start with the frame side mounts for a Chevy and make engine side brackets to fit. Everyone does Chevy swaps. A Ford would be unique.

I dropped a thread with the VIN in the registry. Link to the search on their page: https://www.pullapart.com/inventory/search/?Locations=39&MakeID=33&Models=1319&Years=-1&LocationPage=false&LocationID=0#results Looks pretty rough. I may see about rescuing the bed this coming weekend if it's not already gone.

Just dropped at the Pull-A-Part in Aurora, CO. 4 cylinder, manual.

Hauling, sure. But it lacks towing chops. It can handle light duty towing fine but a built Jeep on a trailer is too much for it. And, unfortunately, that's what I really need. But for daily work stuff, it's hard to beat.

This came out of my 2006 XJ. It should fit any Jeep (including Chrysler and Dodge) vehicle from that era. I'm not sure of the exact year range. It worked well before I pulled it a couple of weeks ago to swap in a touchscreen double DIN unit. $100 shipped.

Free, as in beer! Came out of my 87 donor. It's intact. Was blowing with no noise. No A/C in this unit. Just the heater. I figure I'd offer it up before it goes into the trash bin. You maybe could convince me to ship it on your dime but you would have to sweet talk me into it.

That looks awesome. Do you have any pictures in progress? I'd like to do something similar in my build.

Finished up the ham radio installation. Another antenna similar to the GMRS but on the other side. I also put in Hothead headliners. They really do keep the heat down.

I run TrueTracs in my Jeeps that are mostly street oriented. You never know they're there. The Jeep just handles snow and ice better. And there's no clutches to worry about so it lasts forever. Just don't put in gear oil that has limited slip additive. It messes with the helical gears in the TrueTrac and reduces how effective it is. The limited slip additive is for clutch style (OEM style) limited slips. It should let you do a nice dual tire burnout. If you're doing serious rock crawling where you lift tires off the ground, a selectable locker is a better choice. Auburn Gear makes one that's a lot less effective than true lockers. I had one and I'm glad I got rid of it. I put in an Eaton Detroit E-Locker instead and was much happier.

The 8.8 isn't really an upgrade over a Dana 44. Not by much anyway. You can upgrade the 44 easily enough. Weld on a good truss that reinforces the center section. You can put in a locker with 32 or even 35 spline shafts. You can swap on disc brakes too.

Over the last couple of weeks I upgraded the sound system. Mostly to get Bluetooth and a backup camera. I found an upgrade subwoofer that replaces the one in the center console. And this afternoon, I managed to get the GMRS antenna installed. I still have to run the wire to the front and put an end on. I found a bracket on fleabay that lets me put the Midland MTX275 under the steering wheel. You can almost see in the previous picture where the remote plug for the microphone is. Down to the right of the switches. The microphone mount is on its way.

If you have access to a dial bore gauge, you can check the condition of the cylinder walls. If you have really worn cylinders, you should consider a full rebuild with an over bore. I'm assuming you're doing a full rebuild on the head. Or at least a valve job. New camshaft and lifters may be worth it. Since you're ¾ of the way there.

Another good year is 1965. First up is a Corvette. Last year of the Rochester fuel injection, first year of disc brakes. Of course, a new Shelby GT350 fastback would have to be in the list A year after the movie Goldfinger came out, the Aston Martin DB5 is sill a cool car For daily driving duties, a Jeep Wagoneer with the AMC 327 V8 will do nicely For truck duties, a Ford F250 camper special would be my go-to.

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/arvada-1988-jeep-comanche-long-bed-4wd/v5EpPF6wosCo6G5RFm9gsR

You'll probably need a new carrier unless he used thick cut 4.10s. But you'll have a locker to sell and you likely can get better than $200 for it.

Nice. It's great when it works out like that.

Unfortunately, there aren't any OEM parts houses with people who can actually help. If you're lucky enough to actually talk to a human being at one of those stores, youll find they're little more than monkeys who fill in forms on their computer screen and tell you what it says. Much like the kids behind the counter at the local parts stores these days. Once in a while you find one who can tell the difference between a brake rotor and a carburetor, but they're less and less common. What specifically are you looking for?

There are some scewups on jlwrangerforums.com but if you ask a reasonable question over there some people will give you the right answer. I'd suggest leaving off the preamble anout not being able to find useful help. The goofballs will jump in if you come out swinging like that. Just post up details of your JL (especially the axles under it) and what you're looking for. State your question clearly and you can get a decent answer most of the time. If you don't know exactly what axles you have, ping me with pictures of the center diff covers and I can help. And as far as factory axles. You can call them Dana 30, Dana 35, or Dana 44 and people will know what you mean. The technical names for them are: M186 (front Dana 30), M200 (rear Dana 35), M210 (front Dana 44), and M220 (rear Dana 44).

The SJ wagoneer didn't change the basic body design since the original body came out as a 1963 model. A bunch of parts were compatible all the way through 1991. The rear window wiper was definitely an afterthought.

Get the engine nice and warm in the driveway preferably where the electric fan is kicking on. Then shut it off. Pop the hood and try to turn the mechanical fan with your (gloved) fingers. It should be hard to turn. Much harder than when cold.